Paperwork
by fanfic.meanderer
Summary: What if stealing a police horse had more consequences than Rick Castle could have ever imagined?
1. Prologue

_A/N: Before reading, there's a couple of things to know. First, english is not my first language, so if you read something spelled weirdly or without coherence you'll know why. Second, this is the first fanfic I publish, so go easy on me. Last, feel free to tell me if you like it or not, if you have some ideas, or just to say hi. I have some chapters done and will probably finish, so no worries, writing a castle story is fun, so I won't leave this story, though I can't tell how long it will be or how long it will take me. I'm not quite sure when the horse incident happened, but I think I'll go with Alexis being 4 at the time, but do feel free to comment on that matter._

_Rating: T for safety. Ocassional swearing, so you are forewarned ;)_

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle... I'll think something wittier for the next chapter ;)_

_Update: It has come to my attention that there are some spelling errors and such, so I've been checking and updating the chapters, but if you spot one, please tell me so that it can be corrected. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

PROLOGUE

"Mr. Castle, are you aware as to why are you being trialed today?" The judge asked. She was used to dealing with rich boys who were full of themselves.

Winking at her he replied "Why yes, I plead guilty if spanking is involved" he finished whispering, pursing his lips in order not to laugh. He knew he was crossing the line, but at the moment he couldn't care less.

The judge pretended not to hear his statement, instead just smirked and shook her head lightly. "All right then. Mr. Castle, I know you think just because you play poker with the Mayor, you are entitled to a get out of jail free card. I can assure you, there's no way you will be able to charm your way out of your punishment."

That made him a bit nervous, thinking how bad it would be for Alexis if he were to go to jail. Yet, mustering his poker face, he shrugged and said "What can I say, the mayor is a fan."

"That can only help you so far Mr. Castle. Need I remind you, you stole a police horse!-"

"Borrowed -" he interjected.

"- while naked, in a public place! That's not something to take lightly" The judge continued as if he hadn't said anything.

"It was spring!" He countered sounding like a child, earning a stern look from his attorney.

"I've reviewed some statements by people close to you and one was particularly interesting. It seems as if you are struggling a bit to deliver your stories Mr. Castle?"

What that had to do with anything was out of his understanding. He just wanted to end this charade and go home after apologizing and promising not to do it again. This 'trial' was already taking way too long.

"It was Gina wasn't it? I wouldn't describe it quite as struggling... I would say more as if I have not find inspiration in order to write my plot thickened stories" he smirked, trying to hide the cold sweat running through his spine. He knew it was true that he was having a bit of a block, but he was not about to admit it. Especially not in front of strangers.

"I see" the judge didn't appear to be convinced. "I've talked with the mayor and together we have come up with a solution to all of our problems. He's agreed to let you go to a precinct of the NYPD so that you can fill your ooh so creative mind with police procedural -"

"THAT'S AWESOME!" He all but squeaked. The idea of playing cops was all to pleasing, yet looking at the mischievous smile the judge was throwing his way, he knew she wasn't done

"Yes, it is awesome." The judge said with a mocking tone. "So for the next 8 weeks, I order you Mr. Castle, to attend any precinct of my election and fill at least 25 hours a week or the corresponding 180 hours helping the NYPD with clerical work, such as the completion of forms or the writing of reports or letters."

"What exactly does that mean?" he asked warily, not liking many of the words in that sentence. Particularly the word work.

"Paperwork Mr. Castle, you'll be helping them by doing paperwork."

He had never done paperwork in his entire life, and had no idea of how was it done. Yet somehow, he knew it was not awesome. Not awesome at all.

"Hum...So... Will I be issued a gun?"


	2. Encounters with the jogging kind

_Hi guys! Thanks for reading and for your reviews, it means a lot :). It's funny how you start with one idea and end up elsewhere. I had to break this chapter in two because it was too long. Hopefully, by Saturday I will post the rest._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, yet Castle owns most of my spare time._

* * *

Chapter 1. Encounters with the jogging kind

A blaring sound woke Kate Beckett with a jolt. She rose from her bed unable to hide the groan for the ridiculous hour her alarm was sounding. One weekend off was definitely not enough for the detective to recharge her energies, even though the captain had to practically throw her out of the precinct with the threat that if he noticed she had set as much as one feet inside of the precinct that weekend he'd have her working traffic for a very long time. Having played poker with Capt. Montgomery a few times, she knew his bluffs were almost impossible to tell, so she decided to just humor him and take the weekend off, although reluctantly.

It had been some time since she had a weekend off from her job, mostly because she didn't have much to do. After cleaning her apartment, because she couldn't determine the last time she did it –and that couldn't be a good sign-, she had all that time to herself and nothing to do. She knew she had to get some sort of pastime, she even contemplated getting a dog. After accepting the fact that she could barely take care of herself, she discarded adopting any sort of living form-the dead plant in her kitchen supported that conclusion-. The rest of her time was divided between reading, trying to figure out what to do with her spare time, and thinking of a good plan that enable her to clean her house at regular intervals.

It was still early and noticing the nice weather spring had to offer Kate decided to go out for a run. Changing quickly and grabbing her phone and keys, she took off following her normal jogging path. On her way back, she decided to take and alternative route home, so as to buy herself a cup of coffee in her regular coffee shop. It was a block from her place, so she could just walk back home. Almost a block from the coffee shop, her cellphone sounds, alerting her to an incoming call. Knowing it was probably the precinct, with an address to a body drop, she tried to take her cellphone from her arm bracelet, but her phone wouldn't come out. Not bothering to stop jogging, she looked at her left arm in order to understand why her phone was stuck in the case, when she crashed with something bigger than her, making her loose her balance and fall to the ground.

"Crap… Are you okay?" The detective opened her eyes and the warm morning sun filled her view and prevented her from seeing clearly just noticing a silhouette and the sound deep male voice.

* * *

Rick Castle was definitely not a morning person. By the time he hit the snooze option in his alarm for the third time that morning, he cursed the excitement and nervousness that had prevented him from resting. Even though his current morning routine had him at 7:30 cooking breakfast for Alexis, he usually was half asleep and in his pajamas.

After he divorced Meredith and she moved to California, it was just him and Alexis. Although he wasn't probably the best role model for her, he loved her more than anything, and always tried to do what was best for her. Usually, after giving her breakfast and waking up a bit more he would take Alexis to her preschool, where he had stopped hiding in the bushes (mostly because some teachers realized that and politely told him to go away). The rest of his day, he would spend it playing with toys –with Alexis of course- and successfully evading his writing responsibilities. He had found out in the last couple of months, that hiding from writing and delaying it was rather easy, what was not as easy was hiding from his publisher and from his agent as well.

By 7 o'clock he was showered, dressed and ready to go. Going upstairs, he swiftly entered Alexis' room where he found his daughter already wide awake and playing with her dolls.

"Daddy!" Alexis squeaked loudly while running towards him. He picked her up and blew raspberries in her neck and belly, making his four year old squirm and scream. After a few minutes, he stopped and carried her out of her room towards the kitchen.

"Good morning pumpkin, ready to have some breakfast?" he asked while holding her.

"Yes! Go, go, go, Daddy! Hungry!" was her enthusiastic response. Yep, this child was definitely his.

After serving her breakfast, he sat next to her on a kitchen stool and watched her eat.

"Hey Alexis, do you remember that today grams is picking you up from preschool?" he saw her nod, but also noticed a little frown. He knew she wasn't too keen on the idea of him not being all the time with her.

"Kay. And then come early and play with me?" she asked hopefully.

"I will try pumpkin. Maybe after I arrive, we could bake some cookies, what do you say?" Her face turned into a grin than always managed to melt him.

"Cookies!" she exclaimed making him laugh. He was about to start drinking his now lukewarm coffee when he noticed it was already late. Looking forlornly at his untouched coffee, he got up and addressed his kid.

"Ok Alexis, let's get you ready! You wouldn't want to be late for Mrs. Lizzy's class now would you? "He stated rather dramatically. Alexis opened her eyes and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the stairs frantically.

"No! Let's goo daddyyy" She whined when he slowly got up and followed her towards her room. 20 minutes later, they were both going out in direction of Alexis' preschool.

* * *

After dropping Alexis and calling his mother to remind her that she had to pick her granddaughter after preschool, he proceeded to take a cab towards the 12th precinct, where would serve his 'sentence'. He thought about the 'horse borrowing incident' and even though it presented him with a peculiar outcome, it was certainly not something he should-or would- ever repeat. That was not an example he wanted for Alexis.

A text message from his agent. Paula, reminded him-for the thirty seventh time in the last couple of days- not to be late and that she would be waiting for him outside of the precinct. A few blocks away, he was already buzzing with excitement. He made the taxi stop a few blocks away, remembering he hadn't had time to drink coffee, and decided to look for a coffee shop. He practically skipped until he found himself entering a small coffee shop that was filled with people rushing in order to get some morning caffeine.

Asking the young woman coffee for him and also for Paula, he waited until the coffee was ready. It took entirely too long, and by the time his order was ready, he notice hat he was going to be late if he didn't hurry up. Hastily accepting the two cups of coffee, he almost run out of the shop, stopping in his tracks trying to remember whether the precinct was left or right. After some seconds he remember his path was to the right. He smiled felling the buzzing return his body, he turned when something came barreling towards his chest and impacting him, making him lose his balance which also made him drop the cups of coffee he was holding.

He got up quickly and was ready to demand some sort of apology, when he saw that the cause of his coffee-less state was due to a beautiful woman, all legs and slender body... that was now laying on the ground, not moving. Panic took over the perusal of her body, making him snap to action. He crouched and move her shoulder slightly, but she didn't budge.

"Crap…Are you okay?" The gorgeous woman opened her eyes, yet she still looked out of it. When she closed her eyes again, he shook her with more strength

"Hey, wake up... Can you hear me?" His mild panic state was turning into full panic, making him kneel and place one arm next to her head so that he could examine her closer. Getting a bit closer to her, his front covering the sun from her face, he tried to see if she was in need of CPR (perhaps that was his wishful mind... wishing), when the woman started to sit up.

He gave her some space so that she could stand up. When he saw her he noticed two things. First, she was throwing a death glare at him. Second, his cups of coffee had landed on her, leaving a rather big spot of coffee on the woman's shirt.


	3. Are You Flirting With Me?

_Disclaimer: I'm pretty sure Andrew doesn't use grammarly to find words horrbibly spelled. (See what I did there ;) hahha)_

_I borrowed the first dialogue from the movie Get Smart (I just saw the opportunity and just couldn't resist) Sorry!_

* * *

Chapter 2. Are you flirting with me?

The first thing Kate noticed was that she was on the floor. Having had extensive training in the force, she snapped into action mode, getting up and assessing her surroundings. Only to come face to face with a guy, who apparently had managed to make her fall. Multiple things were going through her head, like how did he managed to knock her down, why didn't she noticed him, how fast was she running that last mile and why did her shirt feel sticky. All of the above made her frown grow deeper by the second, however, she chose to focus on one.

"Oh, great! That was my last mile. Now I have no idea how fast I was!" She complained at him, eyes almost burning through his face.

Although he feared for his life, he was surprised she didn't recognize him and flirt shamelessly with him like it would have normally happened with any other girl. So, against his better judgment-...right...- Rick managed to summon all of his charming powers and decided to flirt his way out of that situation smoothly

"Well, you were really moving. Not easy to knock me down. I have a very low center of gravity. Pretty solid." He finished, hitting himself in his abs, and trying not to wince at the pain, because that would totally contradict his statement.

"Whatever" She rolled her eyes at him clearly unimpressed with his act "I'm just going to call that one a... 4:50." She said mostly to herself, yet Rick managed to overhear her, and tried to continue to make small talk with her.

"Impressive. I, uh, once ran a... 5:16."He told her giving her a self-assured smile. He had no idea what she was talking about, but he figured that was a better number.

"Oh really? That's, uh...slower." She answered.

"Well, not everything's a competition" He countered starting to feel irritated with her answers. He was the popular guy, the one that everyone liked, so he was put off by her reactions.

"If it were, I'd win." She muttered, starting to feel even more irritated with him and not wanting to let him have the last word. She didn't really know why the hell she was still talking with him.

"Ah. Are you flirting with me?" He said with an amused tone of voice and a smirk, already trying to get to her nerves.

"Not at all..." She said, probably louder than she should have, frowning even at the thought.

"...Wait...Are you flirting with me?" She continued, in a higher pitch. She couldn't believe the nerves of this guy.

"That depends. Is it working?" He dared answered. He normally wouldn't be like that with any regular girl, but he couldn't figure out why she was so upset. Then he remembered his coffee and her shirt and cringed a bit. Ok, so maybe she did have a reason.

All she did was raise an eyebrow at him and added "Not at all"

After some seconds of silence, knowing that road wasn't getting them anywhere, Rick decided to address another dire consequence to their encounter.

"Actually, I think you owe me an apology. Your beast like attitude has spoiled my coffee!" he announced dramatically, pointing towards the two cups of coffee that were now empty on the floor. It wasn't entirely his fault...right?

That remark made Kate retake her assessment of the surroundings, starting on the floor, with the two cups of coffee, following the trail of said coffee on the ground, and where it stopped rather abruptly, as if there was something that had avoided the coffee to fall to the street floor. After a couple of seconds, something in her brain clicked, and slowly she continued her examination towards her shoes, shorts and finally on her shirt.

He noticed the minute she figured out the scene and while he watched as she slowly directed her eyes to the stained shirt, he cursed his unfiltered mouth for pointing that fact to her, because until now she hadn't really realize she was sporting a rather huge coffee imprint on her shirt.

"Are you kidding me?!" she whined. That shirt was now spoiled; there was no way that it was going to go back to the original color. After some seconds she directed a murderous look to him.

"First of all I was so not the one standing in the middle of the street. If anything, I'm the one who deserves an apology. Look you have got me all wet and sticky" she complained returning her attention to the cause of her newfound upsetting mood and understanding why her shirt felt weird.

She looked at him again and started to demand some sort of explanation. In spite of what she had said she found him looking, not contrite, in reality he looked... amused? The twinkle in his eyes made her do a mental rerun of her last sentence..._Crap crap crap_

"Don't even think about saying anything inappropriate." She told him trying to sound as stern as possible.

"I wasn't-" she just lifted an eyebrow and gave him the glare that had most hardcore criminals trembling.

If he cared for his life he really shouldn't finish that sentence or get her any more upset with him... However, his mouth had other plans

"God, you're no fun... It was too easy anyway "He released an exaggerated sigh "I would offer to buy you coffee but you are already so tense" he commented and tried to hide his smile when he noticed how frustrated she was getting at him. He really enjoyed pulling her pigtails. She was cute when she was mad.

"Besides you're already wearing my coffee..." he couldn't hold the smile this time.

Seeing him making fun of her really got to her nerves...she really hated his smirk. _What a jackass._

"Just kidding… I'm sorry! Look how about I buy you a cup of coffee? Think of it as a white flag. I'm really sorry about making you fall and for ruining your shirt" he told her honestly, accompanying his apology with a sheepish smile.

Yet the woman was having none of it. She muttered something that he couldn't quite hear but sounded very similar to jackass.

Taking a deep breath, his best guess to calm down and not kill him on the spot, she told him "Look how about we call it even? You lost your coffee and I spoiled my shirt. How does that sound? Good? Ok, bye."

"Wait-" She did a quick once-over him and swiftly started jogging away from him, though he could tell there was more force than it should be in each step she took.

He was left baffled in the middle of the street after the usual encounter he just had "...I didn't even get your name" He practically whispered to himself.

His phone alerted him that and angry wiccan was out for blood (he knew that was probably a bit excessive for referring to his agent, but if the shoe fits...). Seeing the time on the phone he knew the call was going to be an unpleasant one.

"Hello-... Yes Paula, I'm on my way, I was actually getting some coffee...No I don't have one for you...I actually did but I lost it...Not misplaced it, they fell...Okay, I'm going as we speak...I'm hanging up now..." he warned and left the agent talking about his responsibility, making her look bad and whatnot.

Rick glanced down and saw the remains of his encounter with the nameless woman, with one last look, he started walking towards what would be his makeshift work for the next 8 weeks.

* * *

When Kate reached the 4th floor of her apartment building, she jumped out of the elevator and kept running towards her door, reaching it she entered and closed the door with her back, laying most of her weight on the door. _What the hell was that?_

Being out of breath because she had run full speed from the coffee shop to her residence, she took some time to catch her breath. She was pissed to no end. Not only did the guy managed to make her fall, but she now had a ruined shirt and most of her torso was sticky from the sweet coffee. She took another deep breath, like the one she did before when she almost assaulted her offender.

Shaking her head trying to break loose from the weird incident, she took a quick shower, cracking up the radio trying to focus on music instead of her morning accident. Not so long after, she was already packing her purse with the keys she had tossed carelessly toward the kitchen island. She was going to be late if she didn't get out then, so she quickly surveyed her apartment thinking of something she must have forgotten, more out of habit than anything. She spotted her phone in the coffee table. She definitely didn't remember putting it there. She made a bee line to it, unfastening it from the arm bracelet and turning towards the front door, not before tripping with something.

Today was just one of those days, she thought to herself, hoping her falling habits she seemed to have developed over the last hour, would stop before arriving to the precinct. She caught herself with the arm of the couch, looking down to see what the object that had made her stumble was. Kate recognized it was the book she had been reading during the weekend. It was upside down, so she reached for it intending to put it away, when she did a double take on the person staring back at her in the book jacket.

"Oh..." Suddenly, it hit her like lighting, not knowing how she didn't notice before. She was left gaping at the picture for entirely too long, her mouth forming a perfect o and her eyes wide like saucers. It was not every day you bumped with your favorite author.


	4. Principal's Office

_A/N: Hi guys, so this is a prelude to Rick and Kate second encounter!_

_I'm posting this today because I won't have much time later. Maybe by the weekend I'll have another chapter ready._

_I've had problems with the site so I hope there are no more inconveniences with posting this chapter. Love to hear your comments._

_Disclaimer: I don't own much in this life, and definitely do not own Castle._

* * *

Chapter 3. Principal's office

Rick Castle arrived not long after to the 12th precinct, still running over his curious encounter in his head. He was intrigued by the girl she met and wanted to know more about her (however something told him she wasn't as keen in getting to know him).

Sensing a disturbance in the force, he looked up and found a not so pleased agent, impatiently tapping her stiletto heels to the floor. Paula Hass was really beautiful, the kind of person that always gets what they want, and on top of all she was one of the best, if his public persona was anything to go by. Always dressed formally, with impeccable taste, his agent awaited his arrival not so patently.

"It was about time you showed up!" Paula all but barked at his direction the moment she set eyes on him. Her face morphed and he wondered if she had a second job in providing inspiration for cartoon villains.

"Hello to you to Paula. How nice it is to see you this lovely morning" He bit back bitterly. Having angry Paula before noon was not definitely something he enjoyed.

"Oh no Ricky, you can't expect me to be little miss sunshine if you arrive late as always, without coffee, and on top of all give attitude" She talked as if she were scolding a little boy.

That really got to his nerves, but he knew she was partially correct. Not wanting to explain himself as to why he was late or what happened with their breakfast, he said as plainly as possible. "Of course... Sorry" He gave her a tight lip smile

"So? How does this really work huh?" He asked

"For one, we have to meet the captain. He will tell us what the conditions you have to fulfill here are. Then we'll get on some sort of agreement that leaves both the NYPD and you good PR" she explained.

"Ok, that seems logical...So you have absolutely no idea what I am going to do here, right?" He tried again, sensing she wasn't letting on everything she was informed. As if she told him everything he might run for his life. Hell, it was still one of his current options.

"How about we enter and find out?" She gave him a false smile, which he didn't return. She stopped him from entering the precinct.

"Before I forget… please try to act like an adult, at least until I'm gone" She warned, her tone letting him know there was no room to discussion in that aspect.

"Spoilsport" He said under his breath, slumping his shoulders and following her with a strange feeling of dismay, but they were short-lived as soon as he set foot in the building.

After being cleared by security and given proper identification, Rick felt the jitters again He was almost jumping in his feet at the elevator. He was about to enter a real police station, not only that, he was going to be working with them, helping them catch killers in real life, not like one of his books. He could feel the energy irradiate from his being, nothing, not even an irritating looking Paula and a scared looking rookie could deflate him.

"Stop fidgeting, you're making me anxious" Paula hissed, breaking the uncomfortable silence elevators always provided with.

The elevator sound indicated them that they had arrived to the Homicide floor, Paula wasting no time walked-rather sprinted - towards the first person she saw.

A Latino looking guy did a once over her, only to find her scowl directed dangerously towards him.

He visibly gulped and asked "Is there anything I could do to help you Miss...?" He recovered rapidly and gave her a charming smile, the one that surely made woman swoon. _Oh Boy_, Rick thought, _this poor guy doesn't know what he's getting himself into._

"Cute." She smiled at him sarcastically " Actually could you direct us to captain..." she looked in her purse for something, finally retrieving some paper and reading it very quickly "mmm, Montgomery, Captain Montgomery. We had an appointment at 8" She said glancing at Rick, who apparently found the floor rather interesting.

"That won't be necessary detective Esposito" a deep voice belonging to a sharp looking man, well in his sixties interrupted them from the right

"Good morning, I'm Captain Roy Montgomery, you must be Miss Paula Hass, I believe we talked on the phone…"

"Yes, sorry we're late. Nonetheless could we continue this meeting elsewhere?" She wasted no time in saying.

"Sure" the captain answered. Then he looked straight at Rick offering his hand for a friendly shake.

"I was wondering if you were going to show up at all Mr. Castle" he lifted an eyebrow and, Rick could feel his hand beginning to sweat "I hope we are not keeping you from something important" he finished, giving Rick an unsettling look.

"No, of course not." Rick Said nervously

"Ok then... Please follow me to my office" he said andlead the way to the door not that far away from where they were standing.

_I'm not even two minutes here and I'm already being sent to the principal's office... _was the thought that invaded Ricks mind as he moved to the captains' office. He could tell he was going to both like the man and fear him. Hopefully more of the first than of the latter.

* * *

The meeting was short and not really informative, but what he was told about his role here was enough to raise some alarm bells in his head. They exited the office; the captain said something about going to look for the detective in charge of keeping an eye on him. He wasn't really hearing him, still going everything he was told not so long ago

"This sucks!" He whined. He wasn't there to play cops and robbers. Hell not even shadow them a bit. No, he was there as something entirely different.

"I'm going to be a cop's secretary! Might as well put on and apron and start making donuts and coffee for everyone!" he yelled earning a few amused looks from nearby cops.

"What a drama queen." Paula said exasperated "you're not going to be a secretary. You'll just be helping them with paperwork, filling and filing it and such, it's really not that bad."

Rick just lifted and eyebrow

"Ok, that didn't make my point across. However, this is much better that jail time. And you'll still get some experience about how things work here" she tried to convince him by saying.

Although he knew she was right about going to jail, he still wasn't finished throwing his tantrum "but is the boring stuff! Nobody wants to read about that in my books, I don't see how this 'experience' is going to help me!"

"Well just suck it up Richard. This will be over before you know it" She was done hearing him complain.

"This is going to be the longest eight weeks of my life" he stated dramatically, earning a well-deserved eye roll from Paula.

His little pity party prevented them from hearing the elevator ding, nor did they notice the nameless woman entering their level. And they definitely did not hear the woman stop in her tracks, curse loudly and hide behind a rookie walking by her.


	5. You? Again?

_A/N: Hi! So this is a long one, but I didn't want to break it in two. Love to hear your comments._

_Disclaimer: Roses are red, violets are blue, I don't own castle and neither do you._

* * *

Chapter 4. You?... again!?

Kate Beckett was definitely late. In all the years she had been a cop, she had never arrived late. Not even once. Yet now, she was ridiculously late. Today was shaping to be a horrible day.

Almost jogging the lobby, saying hi to Mike, the elder cop in registry, she entered the elevator praying nobody had notice her absence. She arrived to her level, stepped down of the elevator and surveyed the bullpen for Esposito or Ryan. However, to her surprise, she was met with the view of non-other than Richard Castle.

She froze, her jaw almost hitting the floor.

"Shut ...the front ...door!" She was stunned. Questions like how did he found her? What was he doing here? Invaded her thoughts. Her stupor was stopped when she saw him turning in her direction, making her snap into action.

Thankfully Sánchez was passing by, so she almost jumped him, grabbing the back side of his jacket and trying to hide her thin frame behind the larger one of the rookie.

"What the hell...!?" He exclaimed "Detective Beckett?!... Are you okay?" His voice pitched, actually fearing for his life. He couldn't fathom what would make the no nonsense detective hide like a child.

"Shhhh! Just… Stop moving!" She hissed, because Sánchez had been trying to get rid of the monkey like grip she had on his back.

Sensing it wasn't a good hide place, she took the files Sánchez had in his hands "are these from the Williams case?" She asked

"No, they're actually..." She didn't let him finish because she was already moving.

Judging it was probably a breakdown from the senior detective he was not about to get in the way, so he let her take the papers, hoping he could retrieve them later when the detective had calmed down a bit.

Using the files as a mask, or a face shield, she used all her training about entering a hostile location. Marking the break room as a good hideout and vantage point, she rounded the bullpen, not once losing sight of Castle. He was still talking with his girlfriend when she was halfway there. But he turned her way again so she ducked.

Breathing heavily, hoping she had not been spotted she heard over the sound of her rapidly-beating heart someone talking to her.

"Beckett? Is... Is that you?!" Esposito asked surprised and a bit shocked that she was on the floor looking panicked.

_Crap how am I going to explain his to Esposito._ She closed her eyes took one breath and waited for the other detective to be a bit closer so that their conversation didn't attract much attention.

"What? Yes… It's just that... I, uh, dropped this files... And yeah... Just picking them up..." She finished awkwardly.

"Okaaaaayy" he said not really believing her one bit.

"Well since you already have them in your hands, you should perhaps... I dunno… Stand up maybe?" He would have found the whole situation hilarious if he wasn't worried the detective had burned out from work and excessive amounts of coffee.

"Right… ha" she laughed (or at least tried) but it came out as a strangled sound, not really doing anything to calm her friend in regards to her mental health. She stood up, and hid behind a column.

"So... I'm going for some coffee to the break room. Would you, uh, like some?" she frowned at how she sounded. _I can't believe I do undercover ops._

"Are you sure you should drink...?" He didn't finish, noticing the strange look she was giving him. She was definitely having some sort of meltdown, Esposito thought. She never had offered to make him coffee before.

"Of course, I mean why couldn't I?" Thinking how everything must look she decided not to let him answer that question "you know what never mind, I'll just..." She pointed to the breakroom and strategically held the files while she walked slowly to safety, leaving a perplexed looking Esposito in her wake.

* * *

Closing the door as carefully as possible, Kate arrived to her hideout. She could feel her heart racing from the semi panic attack she had just suffered. She wasn't completely sure what had her acting like a madwoman, but she was totally sure she could blame it on the author.

She approached the windows, peaking from between the blinds for signs of Richard Castle. He was still there, seemingly waiting for someone with his alleged girlfriend (not that she cared). She finally got time to inspect him further, since her morning encounter hadn't presented her with the opportunity. She couldn't believe her favorite author was such a douche. She knew he had a bit of a playboy fame, but she hadn't been aware that he could come across like such a cocky prick. And yeah, he was good looking, a rugged kind of attractiveness, and dreamy blue eyes… But he was a man-child, an annoying man-child she reminded herself, not letting her traitorous mind drift further.

Then she spotted her captain; he was probably searching for her. She watched as he strode towards the side of the bullpen, going almost in direction of Richard Castle. Maybe he was going to ask him to go away, she thought (or rather chanted under her breath), but she gaped as she saw her captain make friendly chat with them, rather than kick them to the curve.

She gaped even further when she saw her captain extend his arm towards the break room she was currently sheltering.

"Shit!" She exclaimed when she saw her two targets turn towards her safe haven, so she closed the blinds hastily, not before almost making eye contact with Castle. She prayed to the stars that he hadn't seen her.

She wasn't ready to confront the author, even less in her workplace, so she turned around, felling panic rise from within. She examined available hide places, discarding hiding behind the couch she made a beeline to the backdoor.

Hearing the door open, she practically threw herself out, slamming the door behind her. She was lost as to what to do. Deciding going back was too dangerous and not having any excuses she could give to Esposito, she concluded a friendly morning visit to Lanie was what she needed to do.

* * *

Accepting the offer for a fresh cup of coffee from the captain, Rick could swear he saw someone close the blinds of the room. Tasting coffee that resembled something like a monkey pissed on battery acid, Richard Castle sat on the couch, next to an impatient looking Paula.

"Hey Ryan, Esposito, have you seen Beckett today?" Capt. Montgomery asked the same guy that had tried to flirt unsuccessfully with Paula and another detective Rick hadn't seen before.

"I actually saw her earlier boss, she looked….troubled" Said Esposito, Rick gathered from the previous encounter.

"Troubled?" Asked Montgomery, sounding a bit overprotective of his best detective.

"I think is the coffee sir" He continued warily

"I'll vouch for that, it tastes like a monkey pissed on battery acid!" Rick exclaimed, and cringed when he noticed the looks the cops were giving him. He did a mental check to buy an espresso machine. If he was going to spend a lot of time here, he would need the caffeine.

"I saw her going to the elevator, maybe she was going to the morgue to see Lanie. I think she is still going through some aspects of the Williams case" said the blonde cop.

"Right, the case goes to court this week... Ok, Ms. Hass, Mr. Castle" Montgomery said turning his attention to both of them "It turns out we'll have a bit of a detour, I have to leave to a meeting, so I'll leave you with detective Beckett down at the morgue." He concluded, already going out of the room they were in.

"Sweet!" Rick squeaked, and received arched eyebrows from the detectives.

"I mean… The morgue, how cool…" He coughed; the cops making him feel a bit uncomfortable "I should probably…" He pointed to the door, and made a run to catch up with the cop and his agent.

* * *

The morgue was deserted, not much activity on a Monday morning thankfully. Detective Kate Beckett entered carefully, startling the ME.

"Jesus girl you scared the crap out of me" she protested.

"Sorry Lanie" She said, she was about to think how to explain her best friend what had happened but the doctor beat her to it.

"Girl, what's the matter with you? I can feel your anxiety from across the room!" Lanie said, giving Kate a close inspection so as to find the cause of her distress.

"What would you think something is wrong?" Kate asked back.

"First of all, you barge here looking like a scared puppy, second, Esposito texted me saying you were having some sort of coffee break down-"Lanie explained sounding worried and a bit amused. Kate decided cut short Lanie's explication.

"He said what? Wait, let me change that question. Since when do you talk with Esposito?" A teasing smile broke free from her tense stance. It was better for her mental health to stop focusing on the visitor on the 4th floor.

"Oh no girlfriend, don't divert this conversation from the real problem…Dish, now!" Lanie reproved.

"OK alright… I kind of had a bit of a weird accident this morning …" She took some seconds, trying to find correct words that would describe her current dilemma.

After seeing wide eyes from an impatient doctor, she resumed "So I bumped this guy while I was out running, and he spilled his coffee on me… And he was a real ass Lanie urghhh if you would have been there…"

Kate decided to ignore the smile Lanie was sending her way. She didn't find this humorous at all.

"Anyway, he actually tried to flirt with me, and then he made fun of me… And then he tried to buy me coffee, talk about the nerve in that guy" She finished, feeling agitated.

"Mh mmh" was all the ME answered.

"And that is not the worst part of it all Lanie. He's actually here." She said as if she were telling her something life changing.

Lanie lost her smile and actually looked worried. "There's no one else her sweetie, are you sure you feel all right?" she asked her friend.

"God, Lanie, I know that. I mean he's in the precinct, in the bullpen. I had to hide from him and run away here" She exclaimed

"Oh, that makes sense, we were thinking the coffee had damaged your brain for a bit honey" Lanie said.

"So…"Kate said, expecting more answers from Lanie, at least some that weren't aimed at her state of mind.

"So what? Kate, you are actually here telling me that Kate Beckett, the no-nonsense detective hid from a boy?" Lanie teased.

Kate was begging to regret coming down here.

"I..No!... Yes? I don't know… Just let me hang out a bit here… Just ignore me" She said uneasily.

"And this crush you hav-"

"I don't like him Lanie!" She cut her yelling "Weren't you listening at all to what I have been saying? He's an egotistical jackass!"

"I have been listening all right" Was all Lanie answered.

She narrowed her eyes at her friend and answered "And the uncanny part of everything-" She was interrupted when a voice came from down the hall.

"Detective Beckett?" Captain Montgomery asked and Kate felt a chill go through her veins.

Captain Montgomery entered the autopsy room and saw a panicked looking detective staring at her friend. "Detective, I've been looking for you" he told her.

"You have sir?" She said as calmly as possible.

Arching an eyebrow he continued "Yes… Well I don't have much time, so let me get to the point. Do you remember what I announced last week about a civilian doing a special sort of community service here in the precinct?" he asked her.

"Yes" she said uneasily, somehow she didn't liked where this was going.

"Well he's here… He will start doing his hours today. You'll be the one in charge of him" He stated. "I have to go, so I'll just leave him with you"

"Sir, I don't think that's a good idea-"She complained, but she was cut short by the captain.

"I'm sorry detective, this it's not a question, it's an order" He said resolute. Oddly, Kate could see amusement in his eyes.

He walked towards the door, opened it and said "Mr. Castle, Ms. Hass please come in"

Kate felt and she bet also looked like a deer in the headlights, her eyes wide, giving Lanie a distressed look. She was then, face to face with non other than Rick Castle.

Lanie told her under her breath "Girl, you forget to mention THAT little detail. He's Richard freakin Castle!"

She just gave her a helpless look.

"Oh No! ... I can't … Sir I won't-" She frowned trying to think a plausible excuse that would free her from having to babysit him for so long.

"Miss Hass, there's a couple of details I must talk to you about" The captain continued as if Beckett hadn't speak.

"Sure, I'm also on my way out" She said, and then looking at Rick she threaten "Behave, will you?"

"I solemnly swear" Rick told her, putting his right arm to his chest.

"I guess I'll see you around Mr. Castle" Montgomery said, while he turned around towards the door Paula had already left, only to be stopped by Beckett's voice.

"Wait, sir… Could I talk to you…" she noticed an overly entertained writer, so she added "in private?"

"No" was all the captain answered with a grin.

* * *

"So?" Rick said after a few seconds Montgomery and his agent had left. He couldn't believe his eyes. _It must be fate_, was the line that kept going through his head. He smiled only at her, not even noticing a knowing look from the lady in scrubs.

"Hi, I'm Lanie Parish, Medical Examiner." She managed to sound both nice and threatening, making Rick feel nervous and impressed she could pull that off.

"Rick Castle" he answered confidently

"I would introduce my friend, but it seems as if you two already know each other" She commented.

"Yes, we have bumped into each other before" He said, grinning at Kate, who scoffed.

"Yeah, she told me. You made quite an impression" She grinned at her friend

"Lanie!" She reprimanded

"I did?" He enquired surprised "I've been told it's my charming personality" He quipped smugly, only making Kate grow more irritated.

"Ok you two... Just shut up" She managed to take control of the situation.

"You are coming back upstairs with me" She ordered Rick, and then turned to her friend

"And you.." She stopped because she recalled she didn't have the authority to give Lanie commands. ""You keep doing whatever it is you do down here."

"Whatever you say. I'll be waiting for your call so that you can fill me in properly" The ME stated as Kate walked firmly in the direction of the exit.

"Nice meeting you" Rick said quickly, before running after the detective.

* * *

They were alone in the elevator, when Rick broke the ice. "So what's your name?" he asked her

"Why do you want to know?" She countered harshly.

"Because I need to call you something. I can't call you coffee girl here, now could I?" He reasoned with her.

"Detective Beckett" She replied, knowing she wouldn't leave past that nick name. Ever.

"No first name? Or is detective your first name… You never know with these new names they create... did you know-"His rambling was cut by Beckett.

"No! ... Just don't speak"

"OK… Sorry" He wasn't. He smiled mischievously after a few seconds, and started whistling the soundtrack from star wars.

"Ugh! " She whined while she strode into the bullpen being closely followed by her new aide.


	6. Of Locations and Relocations

_A/N: So Rick's stay on the precinct is just beginning. Love to hear your comments :)_

_Disclaimer: Maybe If I-..Nope, I still wouldn't own Castle._

* * *

Chapter 5. Of Locations and Relocations

Before reaching her desk, and having to explain herself to her teammates, Beckett tried to make some sort of truce with the author, at least for the time being. She truly didn't want to give Ryan or Esposito any more ammo to bother her with. So she stopped before reaching her desk and turned to look at Castle.

"Look, I don't like this anymore than you probably do-" She started, though was interrupted by a smug looking author.

"Actually I'm quite enjoying myself" He sensed he was going to return to the morgue, but as a patient by the look Beckett was giving him.

"Either way, let's try to make this as bearable as possible and stay out of each other's way" she tried to get to some sort of agreement.

"OK" He thought for two seconds and then said "Do you mean that metaphorically or literally, becau-"

"God, you're impossible!" she complained while she resumed her walk to her desk. She didn't know how she was going to manage two full months with this guy.

"Actually I'm quite easy" He jibed following her.

"I can tell" she deadpanned.

"Easy going, sheesh woman. I'll have you know I respect myself" He announced solemnly.

"Sure" She replied rolling her eyes though she had to fight not to show a little smile that tried to creep up to her face.

"I'll introduce you to the team and then show you to where you'll be working" She informed him, while redirecting their path towards the desks of the detectives Rick had come across previously.

"Hey guys, this is Richard Castle, he'll be doing hours here in that position Montgomery informed us the other day. Castle, these are Det. Ryan and Det. Esposito" She briefed them quickly not wanting to prolong this anymore that strictly necessarily.

"Yeah, we have met before" Said Esposito while he and Ryan shook hands with the writer. "Lucky you man. You get to shadow Beckett around" he remarked.

"He will not be shadowing me Espo" She countered, not wanting to give Castle any ideas.

"Right, so he'll be like a secretary." Said Ryan, giving a comical look at Rick

"Hey!" Rick protested.

"Will you bring us coffee Janine?" Espo teased.

"Beckeeeettt" Rick whined. Loudly to Beckett's dismay.

"Ok children stop." She could already feel a headache starting to form.

"Yes mom" Said Espo and Ryan simultaneously.

She just rolled her eyes at their antics "Castle come with me I'll show you were you'll be stationed" She informed him already going out of the bullpen and down the hall.

* * *

They arrived to a cramped room where the only recognizable thing was a small desk. The place was full with junk, boxes with papers, what appeared to be evidence bags, and what could have been rat poop, although Rick really didn't want to know.

"You'll be helping this floor with basic paperwork; you'll understand more of it with the coming days. Basically it's putting in writing anything regarding a case so that it can be filed, also-" She stopped and looked at Castle, he had been quiet for some time. He was sitting in the desk chair and was rather concentrated on the phone in his hand. She peaked from behind his shoulder, only to find him in an advanced level of Angry Birds.

"Castle!" She screamed in his ear, making him jump and release his cellphone, which fall to the desk with a thump.

"Jesus, are you always like this with guys?" he asked her after he calmed down a bit. She really did scare him.

"Like what?" Becket countered warily. She didn't know what the hell he was talking about.

"I don't know. Jumping them… Wait that came out wrong… Knocking people down and scaring the crap out of them?" He inquired.

"It was so not my fault! I was not the one who was standing in the middle of the street. As for right now you should have been paying attention" She replied indignantly.

"Was too! You came barreling down on me out of nowhere. If I didn't know better I'd say you did it on purpose" He stated suspiciously.

"What are you even talking about?" She said in a high pitched voice.

"Yeah, you know. Couldn't resist my charms now could you?" He finished smugly.

When the only sort of acknowledge of his comment was an eye roll, he continued talking. "I think had a mini heart attack" he said while laying a hand to his chest "here feel, my heart is still racing." he requested.

She just arched an eyebrow to that.

"Ok, but if I die, it'll be your fault... You'll have to deal with my crazy fans" he threaten, but Beckett was not listening to him, or at least was doing a very good job pretending not to.

After some minutes looking around she said "For today, I guess you just clean this up. I'm sure the captain will update you further tomorrow. Though I'm not sure the place will fit your needs" she remarked.

"It is cramped right?" he mentioned.

"Yes, wherever will your ego fit?" She jibed while going to the door.

"Funny" He called after her. "God this place is a mess. Don't you know how to clean it at regular intervals?" he asked. She decided not to comment on that matter.

"There's even rat poop Beckett!" He wailed

"Tough" She said as she exited the room towards her desk.

She arrived promptly and started her computer. She felt someone in front of her so she lifter her eyes and saw two very entertained detectives.

"So…? You'll be in charge of keeping an eye on him…" Said Esposito holding back rather unsuccessfully his grin.

"Shut up. And go to work... Now!" She ordered.

"Ok" Managed Ryan because by that point Esposito was laughing.

* * *

After ordering a bit the desk he was going to work on, he went back to the bullpen, only to be stopped by the detectives.

"Hi…" Rick said sheepishly still feeling intimidated by them. However, detective Ryan decided to give him a break.

"So what did you do to get here?" Ryan asked in a friendly manner.

"I borrowed a police horse…. In spring…. Forgoing essential pieces of clothing" He cringed at how that sounded. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

"Really?" Asked Esposito, after seeing him nod he said "So you get this instead of jail time, that's not that bad."

"I know right?" he replied relieved that they weren't going to give him more grief.

"What's her deal?" he asked moving his head to Beckett's desk, where she was currently reading some files.

"Who, Beckett? She's one of the best there is. Youngest female cop to make detective. Takes her job seriously" explained Esposito.

"I gathered" Commented Rick, though he thought she took life rather that her job seriously. "Don't you think she should loosen up a bit... I don't know… relax?"

"Ha, yea, good luck with that" Ryan sneered.

"Good luck with what?" Beckett said, having appeared from out of nowhere. She faced three very nervous looking guys, so for further intimidation, she arched an eyebrow.

"I was actually on my way out. To a date. And I didn't want to be late in this traffic?" Rick informed her, but ended his statement as a question. He looked at the other detectives and they were nodding at him enthusiastically.

"Yeah, you know. Lunch time and all" Esposito also intervened raising his shoulders as naturally as possible.

"Okay" she didn't seem to buy their charade. "Do you have the financials of the Williams case?" she directed her attention to her colleagues.

"Yes, they're on my desk" provided Ryan

"Well I should go now. I guess I'll see you tomorrow" Said Rick before turning in direction of the elevator.

He really could tell his stay in the precinct was going to be if anything, quite entertaining.

* * *

He arrived home not long after leaving the precinct. He was bumped for the second time that day, but thistime by an over excited 4 year old redhead.

"Daddy! You came!" Alexis screamed while she threw herself to her father. He made a show of picking her up and hugged her.

"Hi pumpkin. How's my favorite girl in the whole wide world?" he asked animatedly. He could sense her tinny body trembling with energy.

"I'm fine. Come, come, I was acting with Grams!" She tried to escape his father's arms so that she could return to the source of amusement, but Rick didn't let her go. Instead, he carried her to the living room, where his mother was still running over the lines of her latest play.

"Were you know?" he questioned throwing and inquisitive look at his mother.

"She's a natural Richard. You should be proud." His flamboyant mother informed him.

"And this natural actress had more than one piece of dessert?" Rick asked.

"No…Yes?" A contrite looking Alexis gave him puppy eyes that always manage to melt him.

"Mother?"

"How was I going to deny my only grandchild one more scoop of ice cream?" She countered.

"She really does drive a hard bargain doesn't she?" he mentioned, while releasing Alexis, who continued to play with her grandmother while he grabbed a bite to eat.

After his mother left for her rehearsals and the sugar rush of a certain redhead passed, the rest of his evening was uneventful, contrary to his morning events. Soon it was night, and he found himself tucking Alexis to bed. He didn't know how his mother managed to make Alexis dead tired every time he gave her babysitting duties.

"Daddy, did you made any friends on your first day?" His kid asked him almost between being asleep and awake.

"I hope so sweetie" He answered her, after pondering a bit.

"OK, good." The redhead said shortly before falling asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Kate Beckett woke up, and decided against going out jogging. Instead, she dressed and left for work. Before going out, she quickly checked her phone and noticed she had 4 missed calls from Laine. _Yep, not going to answer that anytime soon_, thought Beckett. She wasn't ready to face Lanie's questions that day (or any other day for that matter).

When she arrived to her desk, she noticed something unusual; there was a chair next to her desk. She frowned and inspected what else was different. She then came across with some files that weren't from any of her cases.

"Weird" She said mostly to herself. She noticed the captain on the elevator arriving as well, so she went to ask what had happened.

"Sir, there's bunch of paper that aren't mine on my desk?" She had no idea whose they were or what they were doing on her desk. Kate didn't notice Captain Montgomery doing a double take on the detective and backing away from her, and entering the elevator again very, very slowly.

"Oh yeah. Apparently there's been a bit of a shortage of desks and they took the one on the deposit room. So for the time being you and Mr. Castle will have to share a desk. Sorry" He finished sheepishly just as the doors from the elevator closed. Today was not a good day to be in the bullpen, if the look in Kate Beckett's face was anything to go by.


	7. Clicking, Tapping and Chair Wrestling

_A/N: Hi guys! It's taking me longer to update this story, I've had a busy couple of weeks, sorry about that. I hope you like the story and don't forget to tell me your thoughts._

_Disclaimer: Same old, same old..._

* * *

Chapter 6 Clicking, Tapping and Chair Wrestling

In retrospect, it was a good thing Kate Beckett didn't believe in things like karma or bad luck. Because if she did, she couldn't tell what evil deed she must have made for her to be stuck with Rick Castle for 8 weeks. He was a jackass (if previous encounters where anything to go by) childish and conceited. So maybe she enjoyed his books, but she wasn't a fan of him, she was a fan of the genre. All in all, the detective wasn't looking forward to what was going to happen with said author around. Especially having to share her desk with Rick Castle.

After seeing her captain flee for his life, she went to her desk and observed all of the junk that was placed on her once organized desk. She grabbed everything and piled it into the left side of her desk where an old chair was recently placed. Just as she was making sure the papers weren't going to fall, her teammates arrived.

"Morning boss" Ryan greeted her.

"Hey Beckett, we don't even have an open case and you're already swimming in paperwork? Talk about commitment to your work" Esposito jibed, though Kate didn't think it was funny. At. All.

"Funny. Apparently other department needed desks, so now I have to share" She reluctantly said.

After some seconds Ryan looked at her with wide eyes "No…"

"What did I miss?" Said Esposito. Ryan made a come here sign with his hand and he said something to Esposito's ear. Esposito then looked at Beckett and bit his lower his lip in order not to laugh.

"Don't-" She interrupted him before he had the chance to say something.

After regaining his composure Espo asked her "I was just going to ask if they fixed the microware from the break room?"

"I think so. Why?" Beckett answered warily, not understanding where he was going with that.

"I wanted to know if I could buy some popcorn because that" He pointed to the microscopic space left for the author "Is going to be better than shark week."

"Don't make shoot you-" She started to threaten, but Ryan interrupted her.

"Something tells me you should save your bullets for someone else" Ryan said nodding towards the elevator, where Castle was stepping down from. They left to their desks before their boss could actually perform some sort of punishment or bodily hurt on them.

* * *

Rick Castle walked in direction of the deposit room, but first he decided to clock in with Beckett. He should probably try to make amends with her if she was going to be the one talking to the judge about how he performed his time there. In reality, he was intrigued by detective Beckett, not just by her looks or the fact that she wasn't like pretty much every woman he ever encountered, but by the fact that she was a gorgeous woman following a career in the police force. He knew there must be a story there, and his writer senses told him he wasn't going to be satisfied until he found out the story, though he really knew he shouldn't, if previous experiences of being told to stop meddling were anything to go by.

"Good morning detective" He greet her when he arrived at her workplace, which incidentally looked far messier than the day before.

"What happened here?" He asked intrigued.

She just threw him a burning glance, her only acknowledge of his presence. Telling him recent location developments was not going to be something the detective could describe as enjoyable.

"You won't be working on the deposit room. They took the desk and the chair." She informed him.

"They threw it away? Thank god, that thing was a health hazard. I mean I sat in that chair, and let me tell you my back has been kinda bugging me" he complained while he grabbed his back with his left hand and arched his back a little.

"No I think the guys from robbery took them" She lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh" He said and stopped feigning hurt.

"Yeah well anyway you've been temporarily reassigned."

"Where?" He asked examining the rest of the bullpen searching for another desk, yet he couldn't find another one. He then looked at Beckett with a perplexed look.

She nodded to the chair next to her desk, where she had previously stacked the papers that were left for the novelist.

"Really? Wait. Do you mean to tell me well be working together? Side by side?" His eyes lit up like a boy on Christmas day and he couldn't stop grinning.

"Don't look too happy." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Ok, partner" He said humorously.

"Let's get something straight. We're not partners. I am not your partner ok? This will only be provisional" Becket stated, hoping Castle wouldn't get any ideas.

"Don't worry. You'll get used to it in time" He jibed smiling at the clearly frustrated detective. Yep, this was definitely going to be interesting.

* * *

_5 minutes later_

_Click, click, click, click, click-_

"Could you stop that!" the detective admonished. Not 5 minutes had passed since they sat and the author was incessantly clicking his pen and it was already giving her a headache.

"Oh, sorry" Rick said, though he didn't look that apologetic.

He then started tapping his pen to the desk while he read the same paper for the hundredth time. He had no clue as to what to do with the papers in front of him.

He didn't notice Beckett reaching for his hand, only realizing her movement when she slapped the pencil (and his hand by that matter) to the desk. Hard.

"Ow! Hey! Isn't this police abuse or something?!" he exclaimed louder than was probably acceptable, earning the look from a couple of passing cops.

"Stop fidgeting then!" She said.

"This is so boring! I have no idea what to do. And even if I had, I still would find it boring" he grumbled, looking up from the papers to where Beckett was.

She realized he was really struggling, so she decided to help him out a bit. He was after all her responsibility. If he messed up it was going to be on her.

"You haven't even started. Don't be such a cry baby. Just look at the example and file the rest according to the file case" She looked among the pile of papers and files, retrieved one and handed it to Castle.

"Ugh how can you do this for a living?" He asked, after some time, already getting a hang of some of the paper filling tasks.

"Well not all can be millionaire writers Castle. Some of us have to actually work for a living." She answered him.

"I'm thoroughly offended" he said covering his left chest his right hand in mock offense.

She rolled her eyes.

"Ok you have a bit of a point there"

"I can't have a bit of a point. Either I'm right or not. And I'm right" She stated firmly.

"You're not always right" He remarked.

"Yes I am. But don't worry, you'll get used to it" She jibed in similar way as he had done when he told her she was his partner.

* * *

A couple hours passed in relative silence. Thankfully a lot of cops had backlogged paperwork that kept Castle occupied at least for some time. She really didn't want to think what was going to happen when he finished that. She glanced at Castle, and saw that there was still a pile of files waiting to be used. She was safe for some time still.

"When will I do you?" Rick asked from out of the blue, making Beckett blush. She could feel her face burning and begged her body to keep it together. _What was wrong with him?_

"I mean do yours? The paperwork I mean. Beckett! Get your head out of the gutter. Because this are all cases from other detectives." He didn't mean to make a double entre, though he wasn't going to let the opportunity pass.

"Although if you-" He started to say trying to keep from laughing. But was stopped by a recomposed detective.

"You do know I'm wearing a gun right?" She said confidently, all traces of the flush already gone

"Ooh" He hissed and narrowed his eyes playfully.

She was saved by the bell when her desk phone rang. _Please be a murder _she thought while answering.

"Yes…Ok we'll be there" The called was short, only giving her an address. "Guys we've got a murder". She informed while standing up and grabbing her badge and gun from her drawer, thought the boys where already up when they heard the phone rang.

She noticed Castle standing up as well so she stopped him. Though he would have stopped either way, the precinct could use some new chairs, judging by the pain in his lower back.

"Where do you think you're going? You can't go to a murder scene… And even if you could go, you still have paperwork ooh!" She said and started walking away from her desk.

"I was just going, thank you very much. Who wants to go to a boring murder anyway?" He said, though he knew the answer was him, oh please god him.

When the detectives were out of sight, Rick was left alone in the deserted bullpen. Seeing Beckett's desk he decided to snoop around a bit (probably against his better judgment). He sat in her chair, readjusted the chair level and started examining the objects on her desk closely. He tried to open the last drawer, but was shortly stopped by Beckett herself. He yelped and tried to cover it with coughing.

"Stay away from my stuff" She stated. Then she bend a little so that she could whisper to Rick's ear.

"And don't mess with my chair, got it?" And then pressed the lever of her chair, making the author plummet down to the lowest level of the chair.

"Definitely police abuse" He said under his breath while he tried to get up and fix the chair.

She just rolled her eyes, grabbed her car keys she had forgotten and the reason she returned to her desk on the first place, and turned towards the elevator where Ryan and Espo where chuckling after seeing the author plummet almost to the ground and then trying to stand up from the chair.

"Is something funny?" She asked when she reached both detectives.

"No, boss" they answered in unison, though the tone of their voices and the smile on their faces said and entirely different story.


	8. Dreams and Future Theories

_A/N: Hi guys, sorry for the long wait. If there are any mistakes I give full responsibility to the pain meds. Incidentally I love soccer.  
_

_I appreciate the reviews telling me of gramatic errors, I´ve been looking for more mistakes from past chapters (and I triple checked this one so I hope there are no mistakes, but I know there are probably some) ;)_

_Also, to the guest or guests, I don't know if it´s the same person or not, I have no way to PM you, but thank you! :)  
_

_So I-ve been told by a PM that voting for CASSIDY will make a little girls come true, so vote people. *slash*pages/contest/one-direction/?103 (just replace the*slash* with / )  
_

_Disclaimer: Castle owners don´t break apart their ACL and have knee surgery._

* * *

Chapter 7. Dreams and Future Theories

When Kate Beckett arrived to the crime scene, she thought the case was going to be a regular one, perhaps another junkie or a gang turf war given the neighborhood the victim was found in. The crime scene was an alley between two abandoned buildings which were now used by drug addicts and hobos. Garbage accumulated at one side with rats lurking around, homeless people finding shelter in the cartons that were lying around… all in all, it was definitely a shady neighborhood.

After gathering essential information, the team went back to the precinct. A couple of hours later they had assembled the murder board, although it was rather empty. What appeared to be a relatively easy to solve case when Beckett arrived, was turning to be one of dead ends. Having no leads what so ever, detectives Esposito and Ryan decided to head home, thinking they could find something in the CSU report that was probably going to be done in the following days. They waved Beckett goodbye knowing she was going to stick around and stare at the murder board. The first times they worked until late they had tried to convince her to go home, but never succeeded. So ultimately they gave up trying to get her to go home and get some rest, knowing she would probably just sleep in the breakroom again.

It way past midnight when Beckett realized she wasn't getting any answers from the board so she decided to call it a day. After checking her watch, she decided to crash in the breakroom instead of going home thinking it had to be more productive that way, just sleeping a couple of hours and then waking up and looking at things more clearly. This routine of sleeping in the precinct was one the detective often follow given the fact that she got slightly obsessed with every case, trying to give every victim the justice they deserve, loosing track of time when she got caught up in the mystery of who killed the victim.

She lay down on the couch, grabbed a blanket she had once brought and closed her eyes._ Just a couple of minute_s, she thought.

* * *

"Daddy?" A voice threaten to wake him so Rick burrowed his face into the pillow. He could hear the voice and some sort of repetitive sound in the distance, but his mind was clouded from sleep so he couldn't understand who or what wanted to wake him from his slumber.

"Daddy, wake up!" The voice then shouted and he also felt a little body jumping in his back.

"Ugh, what?" He mumbled, his voice groggy from sleep.

"Daddy look it's a 7 and a 1 and a 5!" Alexis said. He was half awake by then. He turned and looked at his daughter who was laughing at him.

"What pumpkin?" He asked smiling at the little red head. The girl then showed him the digital clock he kept by his nightstand. His alarm was going off and the clock said 7:15, he had definitely slept through his alarm because he was now awfully late. He had 45 minutes to get Alexis and himself ready, drop her off at preschool and arrive to the precinct.

"Shi- Jesus" He exclaimed, successfully avoiding swearing in front of Alexis.

"Ok let´s get you ready first" he said jumping out of bed and running to the door. Unfortunately, his foot was wrapped around his sheets so he tripped and fell to the ground, earning more laughs from the 4 year old.

"You think this is funny right?" he said while getting up and walking towards her.

"Noo!" Alexis said though she was laughing even harder now.

"You'll pay for your impertinence young padawan" He threaten.

"Noo! Look daddy I already dressed" Alexis told him. Rick looked at his kid and noticed that in fact she had already changed without any help whatsoever. His heart filled with pride, but he had no time to cry and hug his rapidly growing kid.

"Very good, pumpkin. Go to your room and play. I´ll be ready in 5 minutes, then I'll help you with your shoes ok?" he asked, noticing she had all but put on some shoes.

"Kay. But hurry up!" His kid exclaimed making him wonder who was raising whom up.

Rick only had time to fix something for Alexis to eat on the way to preschool. So he had to forego having breakfast at all. Thankfully Alexis arrived on time (not that there was a strict time schedule but Alexis would be upset if she arrived "late").

* * *

Two minutes to 8 o'clock was the time Rick finally arrived at the homicide floor of the 12th precinct. He wasn't late, although he would have if he hadn't left the taxi and run a couple of blocks because of the traffic. Noticing Beckett had yet to arrive he decided to use the 2 minutes he still had in making himself coffee.

He entered the breakroom and started working on the coffee maker regretting having woken up so late that he wasn't able to go to a coffee shop, because now he was going to have to suffer the awful-tasting coffee from the precinct.

He thought he heard someone breathing erratically, so he turned around to find out who was there. He noticed there was someone sleeping on the couch; he got closer and realized it was Beckett sleeping and from the looks of it having a nightmare.

"Rick...Rick" Beckett mumbled in her sleep while she continued fidgeting. Castle would have smiled for the fact that she was dreaming of him if it wasn't for the fact that she looked troubled from that said dream. He sat on the coffee table in front of the couch and shook her gently trying to wake her up. Which she did with a jolt.

"Good morning...did you sleep well?" Castle asked smiling at Beckett´s deer in the headlights look.

* * *

_Roses, Kate thought when she woke up. She was in a garden, or rather a field, the grass had grown long and it was filled with all sorts of flowers. She got up from the grass and followed the path of roses, she felt that it somehow pulled her, it was magnetic. She felt immense happiness, the way she hadn´t felt in years._

_Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her from the path; she turned and saw someone she would have never thought would make her feel happy to see._

_"Rick.." she said, not understanding why she felt like that, but not questioning it either. She didn´t want that moment of joyfulness to stop. _

_However, Rick turned and fell to the ground. She watched as day turned night, she was no longer in the field, now she was in an alley and Rick was still lying there. She kneeled next to him and when she turned him all she noticed was blood, a lot of it._

_"Rick!" She cried unable to do anything, when everything went black._

* * *

Kate woke with a jolt, breathing rapidly because of her nightmare. She didn't have time to analyze her dream, specially the first part, because the major character of said dream was looking directly at her (or staring perhaps was more accurate).

"Good morning...did you sleep well?" Castle asked her.

"Morning" She said hoping he would just drop the subject and move on with his life.

"Did you have a nice dream?" He enquired smiling.

"Uhm... I didn't dream anything" She tried to evade the question trying to comb her hair with her hands, hoping he would get a hint and leave the room.

"Come on! You just had a dream about me.. But was it you know.. A happy dream?" He continued finding that whole situation amusing.

"What?... No! God no! It was just a dream" She acknowledged not knowing why he was so interested in her dreams.

"How good was I?" He asked wiggling his eyebrows.

"You're disgusting! It was not like that" She blurted.

"Not from what I heard" He jibbed.

"It was a nightmare! And for your information I was not dreaming of you" She stated crossing her arms.

"Are you sure? Because I heard you whispering Rick, Rick… Rather huskily If you may" He told her and observed how her face changed color to a crimson red.

"You're just so self-centered aren't you? Well maybe you haven't though that just possibly I know someone else named Richard" She jibed after regaining some self-composure.

"Please that's like the lamest excuse!" He complained.

Beckett arched an eyebrow at him which made him reconsider.

"But you don't, do you?" he asked dubiously.

She decided she had enough so she got up and left the breakroom. Castle got up as well and followed her to the door while shouting.

"Is there someone else?" He whined feigning hurt.

* * *

She arrived at her desk after changing clothes; she always kept an overnight bag on her desk so she had no problem with overnight stays in the precinct. Instead of sitting on her chair, she went to the board and examined all the clues they had found on the alley the day before.

Castle noticed Beckett reading the same paper and seeing the same pictures on the board again and again. He had already examined the board when she was away changing, so he knew there were no leads she could get from there.

"So what are we investigating today?" he enquired.

"How many times do I have to tell you that there's no we. You're just doing paperwork" She stated firmly.

"Sure, sure… whatever you say." He dismissed her statement. "But seriously tell me what are you investigating? Maybe I can help" he continued.

"Nothing" She told Castle.

"Beckett" he complained.

"Nothing really. I'm at a dead end until the CSU report comes in. With id, no cash was taken so that rules out mugging gone wrong... there´s no lead." She complained.

"There's nothing on the data base? You know face recognition like on CSI or a hair belonging to the murderer" Castle asked which made Beckett roll her eyes.

"It´s never like that, besides the results would take time. And no, there´s nothing… it's almost as if this guy didn't exist" She protested.

"What?" Beckett asked when she noticed Castle had an idea.

"Don't you see? No Id, no relatives to report him missing, no recognition in the police database... He is from the future!" He announced making Beckett regret asking in the first place.

"Well Sherlock, how do you explain the wallet full of cash from this time, not the future… And his clothes don´t look from the future to me. Although they always say that fashion trends come back…" She quipped.

"Well duh! His got to blend in so he is given clothes according to the time and also money" He told her looking at her as if she were dumb not to know that.

"Of course" She said although she didn´t sound convinced at all.

"Just think about this. There´s a sect of people, time travelers if you may, whose mission is to go back in time and research people´s lives, like anthropologists... Wait that´s not good go back. They travel back in time to prevent events happening, critical points of history, like a secret agent... but from the future" Castle narrated, getting caught up in his story.

"And what? Some alley is a critical point in history? Besides does he appear to be an agent of any sort to you?" She criticized his badly structured theory. She pointed to the photo of the victim, a male, mid-twenties, thin, with glasses.

"Uhmm..Geek secret agents?" He tried, but Beckett was having none of it.

"Are you sure you´re a mystery bestseller?" She mocked him.

"Funny. But look at the evidence-"He tried to convince her, however Esposito and Ryan appeared by the murder board interrupting what he was about to say.

"CSU just got in" Esposito said showing them the file he was currently holding.

"See, evidence, not wild theories" She said to Castle.

."And..." She then said to Esposito.

"You're not going to like this boss"

* * *

_A/N: I don´t think I´ll get to deep into the murder investigation, but if you think I should tell me!  
_


	9. Our First Case

_A/N: Hi! So this one is reaaaallyyyyy long. I'm not sure about it, but I'm definitely sure I won't be doing any other cases in the near future hahahaha :) _

_Hope everyone had nice holidays. _

* * *

Chapter 8. Our First Case

"What do you mean with there's no ID on the victim?" Beckett asked irritated.

"There wasn't any DMV record, nothing on the police database, he's never been arrested or fined. His photo has been released, maybe someone will recognize him through the news" Esposito resumed.

"Maybe he underwent massive surgery. And no drivers license? He's definitely from the future... Or Amish" Rick excitedly commented.

"Anyway" Esposito looked at him weirdly " We're checking on international databases, if he's not american, he won't show up on those searches."

"Don't say that! You're spoiling the time traveler secret agent theory" Castle complained.

"Don't listen to him." Beckett suggested Espo.

"There was one thing though. CSU determined that the murder weapon was a 9 mm. Ryan is checking surveillance videos from nearby shops, so maybe we'll find something there." Esposito finished reporting the findings to Beckett.

"OK, keep digging" Beckett told Esposito just as a uniform approached her desk.

"Detective Beckett? There's a woman saying she identifies the photo on the news as her boyfriend. She's waiting on the conference room " A young cop informed her.

"It was too good to be true anyway." Castle said while walking towards the room the woman who was about to spoil the time traveler theory was.

"Were do you think you are going?" Beckett asked him.

"I... uhm...The bathroom?" Castle said, perceiving he wasn't going to go with her to interview the girlfriend.

"Sure you were. Just do what you have to do. I don't want files piling up in my desk" Beckett scolded when she realized the pile of paperwork that had accumulated overnight on Castle's side. Then, she grabbed her notepad and went to the room the alleged girlfriend was.

* * *

Although the conversation with Elizabeth Jones didn't provide an important breakthrough, it at least gave the detectives some idea as to who the victim was. Having asked basic information beforehand, Beckett sent Ryan and Esposito to the victim's workplace while she talked to the girlfriend. The sobbing woman confirmed the victim was Joe Matthews, a 28 year-old software told the detective. They had moved from England to the US a month ago after a friend had gotten him a job on the same company he worked. Carefully asking her whereabouts for the time of the murder, Elizabeth said she was home alone, adding that she didn't report anything about her boyfriend's disappearance because it wasn't unusual for him to stay working late. She also confirmed that Joe had a brother, and that she had already called to inform him about his brother.

The detective sent Ms Jones home after asking for some contact number, and promising she would do everything possible in order to find out who killed Joe. Just as she arrived at her desk she noticed Castle eagerly expecting a full rundown of the interview with the girlfriend. Ignoring him, she set her notepad on her desk, grabbed a marker and started writing the information she had obtain from the girlfriend.

"There's something odd about the girlfriend. If I were you I'd do a double check on her" Castle remarked.

"Mmm..." Said Beckett, not really paying attention to him.

"It sounded as if she were hiding something, especially because of her alibi" Castle commented.

"I know, right...wait, where you eavesdropping?" Beckett said indignantly, turning around, capping the marker and placing her hands on her hips.

Noting he had just given himself away he mentally slapped himself.

"I think you would have been disappointed if I haven't?" He tried, cringing at the thought of Beckett shooting him.

"More like pleasantly surprised" She deadpanned, resuming her work on the board letting that go for the time being.

"Sorry to disappoint you" He smiled knowing he wasn't getting shot today.

"No, your not" Beckett turned and looked at him again.

"Yeah, you're right" He smiled sheepishly at her which almost made her laugh, yet she refrained herself from doing so.

* * *

A couple of hours later, Ryan and Esposito returned from Joe Matthews workplace, a small software designer company located not far from his apartment.

"Hey guys, found anything?" Beckett asked.

"Not much. Though he had just been working there a month everyone said he was a nice guy and had no problems at work with others. They were all surprised someone had killed him." Ryan informed her.

"Yeah, his friend Ashley Bennet was the one who recommended Matthews for the job. He also mentioned they stayed late last night. Bennet said that when he left work at 10 Matthews was still there, which apparently that wasn't uncommon." Esposito continued narrating the facts the had obtained from their search.

"Yes, the girlfriend did mention him. Ashley Bennet, apparently he and the victim go way back, having lived in England when they were younger" Beckett provided.

"I'll go through the company's surveillance videos and some other information they also provided us with" Ryan informed them.

"OK. Esposito, do a background check on Bennet, maybe something pops. I'll check Elizabeth Jones" Beckett instructed.

"You also thought she looked suspicious. I knew it!" Castle exclaimed.

"I'm a detective Castle, everyone seems suspicious to me."

"Be that as it may, I was right. But I have to admit that if the girlfriend killed him, it will be highly disappointing" he stated dramatically while walking back to his chair.

Some time passed while he debated whether to do something productive or give in to his writer's need to know the whole story. He tried to reach for some paper that was almost in front of where Beckett was closely reading a file, but as if she could sense his movement, she grabbed all the files she had on the case and piled them on the other side of the desk thus preventing him from reading anything case related. Still not utterly convinced he should be doing paperwork, he stared at the detective, perhaps thinking he could develop the ability to read through her file.

"Don't you have stuff to do?" Beckett asked without looking at him, though she could sense him staring. Furthermore, she could sense the untouched paperwork in front of Castle.

"How did you know I wasn't-?... Never mind, you're like a ninja." He was truly impressed with her witchy powers.

Not buying his diversion, she stopped reading and looked at him pointedly.

"No. I mean yes, but I'm helping you!" Castle defended himself after realizing she could see right through him.

"Oh really? Explain to me how exactly is staring creepily at someone helping them?" Beckett inquired.

"Is it so not creepy!" He sated as Beckett resumed her reading.

"... it's not, right?" He asked second guessing himself.

"Huh. Her financial report states her credit card was used the night of the murder on restaurant nowhere near her place. She lied as to where she was that day." She said mostly to herself.

"Wait." Castle grabbed the pile of files Beckett had put away not too long before and searched through the victim's and the girlfriend's financial statement and phone records.

"Ha here! Look, it says Miss Jones received a call from Joe's office maybe 20 minutes before." Castle stated as if that piece of information was the final piece of the puzzle.

"When did you read that?" She asked because of the fact that she had been guarding the files ever since she printed them.

"Totally not important... The fact is that she was totally having an affair. Think about this. Young, beautiful Elizabeth Jones finds herself on a strange country, her boyfriend always working late, not providing the care and attention she needs. However she is not all alone. She finds the only recurring person in her life, the guy who has always been there for her and the one who finds time to be with her. The friend who had always wanted to be with her and always envied Joe for being with her, Ashley Bennet." Castle narrated.

"Wow, that is-" She said but Castle interrupted her.

"Inspired"

"No"

"Brilliant"

"No"

"Genius?" Castle provided running out of options

"Nuh-uh. Thin. maybe she was having and affair, but we don't have the slightest indication that it was with Ashley Bennet. Or that he would kill him"

"Maybe not, but Castle asked me to check if he had a gun registration" Esposito stepped in from out of nowhere, holding some papers.

"How did he tell you? He's been here the whole time" Beckett questioned surprised.

"He texted me" Espo said as if it where the most natural thing in the world.

"You text each other?" The surprises just kept on coming for the female detective.

"What if we do?" Espo asked her.

"Nothing" Beckett quickly said, suppressing a smile.

"Anyway... Guess who has a gun registration the same caliber as the one used to kill our victim?" Esposito asked lifting the papers he had in his hands.

"Shut the front door!" She exclaimed.

"No time for dirty talk. Go and arrest him." Castle quipped.

"Not so fast. The company has him logging out at 10" Ryan also joined the group and informed them of his findings.

"But the credit card charge was made at 9. Dam it, I thought it was him" Castle commented.

"However, I check the security cameras, and he didn't go out at 10. I saw him leaving the building at 7:30. He was a computer expert, so it wouldn't be too hard for him to fake the logs" Ryan resumed.

"So I'm right. Again." Castle stated smugly.

"Ryan, Espo, go pick up Bennet. I'll go and have another chat with Elizabeth" Beckett commanded choosing to ignore Castle's remark.

"Let's go" Said Castle already walking towards the elevator.

"Stay" Beckett ordered as if giving a command to a dog, when she didn't break eye contact with him, he gave up and sat on his chair pouting like a small child.

"Good boy" She said as she left.

* * *

The conversation with Elizabeth confirmed that she was having an affair with Bennet. She told the detectives that her boyfriend always called to inform her he was going to be late, so on those days she would meet with him. She also told the detective that their affair had been happening even before she moved to the US.

After getting confirmation of the affair, the detective returned to the precinct where her suspect awaited. After informing her team, she entered the interrogation room. Detective Beckett had a especial feeling for that room. In there she had broken several hardcore criminals, so every time she entered it she felt strong and powerful. She most definitely owned the place and what's more, she knew it.

She sat opposite Bennet, her back at the looking glass. The suspect was tapping his foot against the floor, showing that the several hours he had been there alone were doing a number on his nerves.

"Mr. Bennet, have you been informed of your rights?" She asked him calmly which only upset him further.

"What am I doing here? I've been sitting here for almost two hours!" He exclaimed.

"Could you tell me the nature of your relationship with Joe Matthews?" The detective proceeded.

"I already told that to the other detectives. Shouldn't you be searching for his killer instead of wasting time talking to me?!"

"The faster you answer, the faster we can move on. So for the time being answer the questions. Otherwise there's a cozy cell with your name written all over it" the detective remained calmed, but Bennet could tell she wasn't kidding about the cell.

"Ok, ok. he was a close friend. We knew each others from way back, I went to England to study and stayed there for some time."

"Was Elizabeth Jones close to you as well?"

"I-ehrm, sure we were all friends." He said hesitantly.

"Really, because according to her, your relationship had developed from 'just friends'. Now, how is lying to me, Mr. Bennet?"

"She told you that?God, ok yes. We were having an affair. but that doesn't mean I killed him. he was my friend for god's sake!" he was getting agitated again, so the detective decided to approach the subject differently.

"It says here you have a gun registration" Beckett told him, making a show of opening the file and reading briefly.

"So that doesn't mean anything"

"However the caliber is the same as the one used to murder Joe... So, I guess you wouldn't have a problem if I asked to see the gun"

"Oh, no. The gun, someone stole it. I mean, they broke into my apartment a week ago and took a bunch of stuff, including the gun that was in the safe." He spoke rapidly showing great distress.

"How convenient."Beckett responded, however she thought there was truth behind that statement.

"It's true, I swear! The day Joe was murder I was out with Elizabeth, we went to a restaurant. Ask her! Joe called her saying he was going to be late again, so we met nearby."

"And why exactly should I believe you. Every time we've asked you something, you have lied to us." Beckett still remained not entirely convinced.

"It's true. Check my phone, It has a GPS app, there you can see it wasn't me!"

"Ill go and check and you better pray it says exactly that. Meanwhile make yourself comfortable. Oh, and one more thing, why would you fake the time you left the office" Beckett asked noticing it was the only part of his story that didn't make sense.

"How did you know that?... Well, those days I left before I was supposed to, so I sneaked out and forged the time so that my boss wouldn't notice."

Beckett stood up and went out towards the bullpen where Esposito and Ryan were working frantically on their computers.

"Please tell me the GPS has him with the vic" She pleaded.

"Checking that right know" Ryan informed her without looking up from the screen.

"Hey boss. I found that he did report that his apartment was robbed and the gun was listed among the things that were taken" Esposito announced the group from next to Ryan.

"And his GPS does have him at the restaurant and then at his apartment within the time the murder happened" Ryan also provided his piece of information.

"Crap, I thought he was our guy." She complained

"Does this mean that we are on square one again?" Castle asked the team.

"Not necessarily. He did mention that they took the gun that was in his safe, right?" Beckett mentioned.

"So?" Espo and Ryan asked in unison not understanding what that had to do with anything.

"Right! Safe boxes usually have passwords" Castle told her, the only one who caught up with her train of thought.

"Exactly, and are only known to the owner of them or someone who the person trusted-" She continued

"-For example a girlfriend" Castle jumped in.

"So probably Bennet called Elizabeth worried after finding his apartment was a mess. Giving her an opportunity to take the gun without him noticing-"

"-Or Elizabeth hired someone to trash his place and take the gun-"

"Either way, she obtained the gun. So after having a nice evening with Bennet she retuned home-" By that time, there were only talking to each other, gravitating to one another.

"And the gun was there, on her bedside table, mocking her. Challenging her to just do it-"

"So she grabbed the gun and went to confront Joe-"

"He had already left work so they met on the street-"

"She was worked up already so she started yelling and pointing the gun at him demanding him as to why he didn't care about her-"

"When suddenly she fired. The guy wasn't so heavy, so she could easily drag him to the alley.-"

"Successfully killing her boyfriend" Beckett finished their banter. She was breathlessly staring at Castle who looked equally disturbed by their interaction. They were standing way to close to each other for it to be acceptable, but she was entranced by the conversation.

"You guys know we are still here, right?" Ryan commented after seeing their banter. This made her snap into action.

"Search her place, let's hope she was dumb enough to keep the gun home." She ordered them to go while she escaped to the bathroom wondering what the hell had happened.

* * *

Having found the murder weapon on her place, they arrested Elizabeth Jones, who claimed it was all just an accident. That fact was going to be solved in court, so all that was left to do for the detectives was fill the extensive paperwork. it was almost night when the detective sat on her chair and was about to start writing something on a paper when she noticed that Castle was still there.

"Why are you still here? I thought by the time your 'shift' ended, you would have run out of here." Beckett asked him.

"Are you kidding? And miss the end of our first case. Never!" He exclaimed placing one hand on his chest dramatically.

"And here I was thinking this plot wasn't quite up to your standards. You did say that if the girlfriend did it you would be highly disappointed" She observed.

"Well not much can beat time travelers... but this one was after all, our first case" He mentioned remarking the 'our' part.

"Ours right?"She repeated suspiciously.

"Yeah"

"Well now you have to do 'our paperwork'. Don't think I didn't notice you not doing anything today" She scolded.

"But I helped you solve the case!" Castle called out.

"But nothing. Besides, you were convinced it was Bennet." She mocked.

"It was a moment of temporal disbelief." He defended himself.

"Do the paperwork 'partner' " She ordered Castle.

"Only because you accepted we are partners" He agreed smiling.

"I didn't. It was sarcasm i thought you writers were fond of that" She quipped.

"As much as you detectives are fond of denial." He countered.

They hadn't been working for ten minutes, when Castle's phone rang.

"Hello pumpkin... I'm actually on my way home... Ok, see you soon... love you, too" Castle spoke to the phone happily, already getting up from his seat and gathering his stuff.

"Some 'hot babe' waiting for you at home, huh Castle. " Beckett said as he hung up.

"Yeah something like that. You should meet her sometime, I'm sure you"ll like her. Everyone does." Castle decided to omit the fact that it was his 4 year-old daughter. He wondered if maybe he should make them meet.

"Anyway, I have to go now. See you tomorrow" Castle waved her goodbye.

"Bye"

Not wanting to address the unknown feelings the last conversation-and the one before for that matter- had evoked from her, she decided to call it a day and see if the guys and Lanie would go out for their normal celebratory outing.

* * *

After arriving at their normal bar, Lanie and her went to find a table for the four of them, while the guys grabbed everyone a round of beers.

"So girl. Tell me" Lanie requested the second they were sitting. Kate should have known that being alone with her was not going to be a good idea.

"What?" She tried to play dumb.

"Don't what me! You have been working side by side with Richard Castle for days and there's nothing to tell?!" Lanie complained wholeheartedly.

"Nope" Was the only answer Kate could come up with.

"Kate!" Lanie whined.

"His an immature egotistical brat... I can't wait until his stay in my precinct finishes. What more do you want to know?" It was Beckett's turn to complain.

"A whole lot more than what you tell me. Nevertheless, there hasn't been any guy in quite a while that has got that kind of reaction from you every time you talk or even think about him" Lanie remarked smirking at an annoyed looking Kate.

"Of course there have been. Only I arrest those" She tried to divert the conversation from the path it was currently going.

"Funny" Lanie observed.

"But true"

Just then, the guys arrived with the beers and apparently they had listened to part of their conversation.

"I know what she can tell you. How about the way they where building theory on the bullpen?" Ryan commented while he offered Lanie her drink.

"Yeah, you should have seen them! they looked almost enlightened. Finishing each other sentences and all that" Espo smiled at the sight of their boss' deer-in-the-headlights look.

The only answer Kate had for that is looking at them like if they had betrayed her. Or perhaps as if there was going to be suffering for them in the near future.

"Girl!" Lanie squeaked.

"It was not like that" Kate tried to defend her actions.

"Yes, it was." Espo countered.

"Rick and Kate sitting on a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g" Ryan sang earning weird looks from everyone on the table.

"Dude, seriously?" Esposito admonished.

"What? I thought we were bothering Beckett" Ryan said innocently.

"yeah, but singing that, what are you five?" Esposito said disgustedly.

"Only for that your paying for the next round." Beckett told him.

"Come on!"

"Anyway... where's Castle?" Lanie asked looking straight at Kate.

"Why do you ask me?" Kate wondered, but answered mostly because of the piercing look Lanie threw her way.

"He went home to his girlfriend" she said in spite of herself.

"Girlfriend? Are you sure?" Lanie commented disbelievingly.

"He didn't mention anything about a girlfriend" Kevin told the group.

"Well unless he calls his housemaid pumpkin and tells her he loves her, it was his girlfriend" Kate informed.

"I didn't know he had a girlfriend" Espo also told them.

"Yeah, well who cares? And unless we start braiding our hair and painting our nails I suggest we change the subject." Kate stated. She had enough Castle talk for the day. Hell, she had enough Castle talk for the whole year.

"Do you think I would look good with a braid?" Esposito jibbed.

"You'd look super cute" Kevin answered with a girly voice, earning laughs from the group, as well as having to pay for the next round -after the one he already had to pay-.

* * *

_Next, I think Beckett should meet lil' Alexis already, don't you? ;)_


End file.
